Lithuanian Radio and Television

PETRONYTĖ Vitalija, Šiauliai

My brother and I drove from Šeduva to Vilnius to keep vigil on the 12th of January. We heard over the radio that people had gathered by the Radio and Television. We decided to go there. It was then 1:20 a.m., “Armonika" was playing, people were singing, and a bonfire had been built. They read an announcement over the radio for the television staff to return to their workplace... Soon we heard a crash from the TV tower... Armored vehicles arrived. You could hear shooting and explosions... People, making a “V" with their fingers in a sign of victory, chanted: “Freedom!" and “Lithuania!"... Opposite our row, near the armored vehicles, the paratroopers suddenly lined up one next to the other and aimed their guns right at us. Apparently by a command (I didn't hear it), they opened fire... We rushed back from the street, screaming in horror. Next to me, people were falling down, or maybe they were lying down on purpose. I understood that they were shooting blanks because such firing would have wiped out everyone at once. But while I was running across the street I noticed a young man who was wearing light-colored pants and who had been shot in the thigh... My brother came over and said that the men had managed to protect the door even though there was shooting, plaster had been falling on their heads, and explosives were being thrown at their feet. The paratroopers broke the windows and climbed through them...Passing by an armored vehicle, my brother had seen a soldier sitting in it and crying...